Our Impact

Impacting Florida Laws

Laws Passed

Passed – House Bill 569 – 2013 Legislative Session

In January of 2013, Integrity Florida presented the report Florida’s Broken Campaign Finance System to the House Ethics and Elections Subcommittee. The report detailed how Florida’s low campaign contribution limits were reducing transparency in campaign funding by driving the majority of funding to unregulated political committees. House Bill 569 became a priority of House Speaker Will Weatherford and contained policy changes recommended in the Integrity Florida report including the elimination of the political “Committee of Continuous Existence or CCEs” and increased reporting of campaign funding and spending.

Passed – Amendment 12 – 2018

Amendment 12 was placed on the 2018 ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Integrity Florida supported the amendment as it moved through the process because it is consistent with past research on ethics laws in Florida. Amendment 12 extends the “revolving door” prohibition on lobbying after leaving public office from two years to six years. It also required the Florida Commission on Ethics to develop a rule defining “disproportionate benefit” when it involves misuse of office.

Passed – Senate Bill 2 – 2013 Legislative Session

A few months after Integrity Florida released the report Corruption Risk Report: Florida Ethics Laws on Florida’s ethics laws, incoming Senate President Don Gaetz announced that ethics reform would be the Senate’s top priority in 2013. Ultimately, Senate Bill 2 became the first major revision of Florida’s ethics laws since the 1970’s. Senate Bill 2 contained policy recommendations by Integrity Florida including putting all full financial disclosures (Form 6) by public officials online in a searchable database.

Bills Proposed

Proposed – Senate Joint Resolution 1674 – 2020 Legislative Session

Senate Joint Resolution 1674 was proposed by Senator Gary Farmer in the 2020 legislative session. The bill was filed after the publication of Integrity Florida’s report titled Preemption Strategy: The Attack on Home Rule in Florida. The legislation would have placed a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot to require a supermajority vote of each house to approve a law preempting a subject of legislation to the state. The same proposed policy was recommended in the Integrity Florida report. The bill did not pass.

Proposed – Senate Bill 166 – 2020 Legislative Session

Senator Janet Cruz filed Senate Bill 166 addressing the approval of charter school applications in the 2020 legislative session. The bill was filed after the 2018 publication of Integrity Florida’s report titled The Hidden Cost of Charter School Choice: Privatizing Public Education in Florida. Among other policy recommendations, the report recommended establishing stricter criteria for approving charter school applications. Senate Bill 166 would have required charter school applications to demonstrate that they will meet certain needs the local school district does not or is unable to provide to students. The bill did not pass.

Proposed – Senate Bill 1850 – 2020 Legislative Session

Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez filed Senate Bill 1850, an ethics reform bill, in the 2020 legislative session. The bill would have required a “state public officer,” including members of the legislature, to publicly declare a voting conflict of interest before a vote is taken. Currently, legislators are only required to file a memorandum stating a voting conflict up to 15 days after a vote. Senator Rodriguez’s bill was consistent with Integrity Florida research on Florida’s ethics laws. However, the bill did not pass.